So here's the situation: We have 2 boys, and we just found out that we're having another one. That being said, I have already picked my favorite baby boy names on my first 2 so I am in a complete brain freeze here trying to figure out one for another boy. We still have 4 months to decide so we have time, but I'd really like to at least narrow the options down asap. Right now my DH and I are not agreeing on any names so I wanted to share some that I've been thinking of, to get input and to add to this list too!

My first sons are William and Tristan, so we really want another Scottish or Irish name for our 3rd. I like names ending in "an" "illian" "ian" so it'd be nice to keep that trend going.

Here's what I'm thinking of and DH's and my issues with them, despite my general love for them. What is your favorite here and can you address the concerns?

Caedan (Does it remind you too much of the very popular, very used name Aiden or does it sound unique enough to not be associated with it?)

Ciaran (pronounced kee-uh-rin. Does this name sound too girly to you?

Cillian (pronounced kil-ee-an. DH says it reminds him too much of the word "kill". Does it remind you of it too?)

The name doesn't have to start with C, I'm just really loving the idea this time around.

Thoughts? I do not like "Aiden" or any other names rhyming with it besides Caedan.

I've been to about 20 baby name sites so I don't need any website suggestions. Just your true blue honest feedback on these names and your favorite! Thanks in advance

For me, Caedan does not remind me of Aiden at all. They are totally different names. Though, it does rhyme with "maiden" the way I pronounce it..."Caedan the Maiden" would be a real risk in the playground, if your son turns out to be a gentle, studious type.

Ciaran I think is pretty. Definitely my favourite. Not at all too feminine. Just right for a little boy or a grown man, no matter who he turns out to be. Suits the professional football player, fireman, physics professor or ballet dancer just perfectly. It is not a name that automatically categorise you as a person. And I can't, from the top of my feverish head, think of any possibly, obvious bad nicknames for the playground. Which is also a good thing.

Cillian, to me does sound very much like "kill 'im" which might just not be the most lovely name to have growing up. Besides, if you are worried about a name sounding to girly, this is definitely one of those names. Since it is very similar to the girl name Gillian. Another thing to keep in mind is potential nicknames, as I've mentioned before. For instance, a very real possibility is "Silly". Especially if you spell it with the letter "C" once children start to read and learn about the dual sound of "C".

You know, if you don't mind, I think I will save Ciaran/Kiaran to my own potential future name list if that is okay with you?

Caedan is one of my favorites. I'm not pregnant but TTC#2 & obsessed with names lol. Caedan was a top contender until I realized how over-used it's become (which is not a big deal, I just personally prefer more unique names so I'm not likely to use it now). Otherwise, I just love the sound of it.

Ciaran -- I do think it sounds a little girly, because when I say it out loud, it reminds me of a few names but they are all very blatantly girls' names. I don't think there's anything wrong with names that can go either way (DS has a 'unisex' name). Guess this one is just not one of my favorites though.

I love the name Cillian. LOVE it. One of my friends hates it though, for the exact reasons you stated ("Kill").

Cillian is one of my favorites too, although I'd spell it with a K. I made the mistake of telling SO we weren't naming our child after any "brand names". So when I suggested Killian he reminded me about the beer. Oops.

Caedan sounds like a variation of Aiden to me.

Ciaran is nice, but it sounds too similar to Ciara.

Here are a few more suggestions:

Caelen (similar to Caedan, but different enough from Aiden)

Callan

Cale

Corrigan

Cullen (not a Twilight fan, but it's a lovely name!)

Sarah, partner to J and mom to DD1 April 30th, 2002 and DD2 May 5th, 2012.

I love Ciaran. That would be my choice from the ones you listed. Love it.

I think that Caeden (or Cayden, as I see it spelled more often) and similar names like Jayden, Brayden, Aidan, etc are extremely popular for little boys. I am a L&D nurse and I see at LEAST one variation of those boy names every single week, and have for at least a year. All those -ayden boy names are extremely popular and IMO seem even more so because they really do all blend together.

I like Cillian but I think it will get mispronounced as Silly-en a lot. Maybe if you spell it with a K, is that an option?

It wasn't on your original list but someone else posted Eamon, which is one of my favorite names EVER. I begged and begged DH to agree to it for a boy. He never did and we're having a girl but I absolutely love that name.

wife to my , mom to, , , and ! a person is a person, no matter how small.

I have a William. He's my second boy. My first boy is Ryan, which isn't super original, but its Irish and I haven't met any other Ryan's his age (he's 3). Out of your original 3, I like Cillian the best, but I would spell it with a K. Good luck, and congrats! :)

of your picks, i like Ciaran the best. i know you didn't want suggestions, but i too love Eamon, as beansproutmama suggested. and Cillian reminds me of beer too! i don't like Caeden, i think it's becoming "trendy." i like Eoghan too. very fine names...

you can steal ours, too, which will be (gods help us with teaching him to spell it) Caoimhin. (Kevin)

Caeden is really popular in my area in all it's incarnations, I really like Ciaran and Cillian. I've heard Cillian out and about but not too popular, even with the Coors company (the makers of Killians) down the road. I love Declan and regret not naming my Conner that - Conor/Connor/Conner is really popular. But his middle name is Liam so he can always go with that. His brother is Kiernan Rhys

My littlest is Ciaran. We use Kai as a nickname, which is helpful for those that just don't understand "Ciaran" and call him "Karen" instead. No one can pronounce it and NO one can spell it, lol!!! That said, I LOVE his name and wouldn't change it for anything. We also have Irish names (we have an Aiden but picked it long before Aiden was popular). I just couldn't make myself spell it the American way with a "K" because I fell in love with the traditional spelling (and now people tell me I spelled it weird just to be different... I don't bother arguing...)

We are looking for another Irish boys name this time around and I'm having such a hard time finding something I love. Right now Reilly is at the top of the list... I just wish it wasn't so popular for girls right now. I really like Tristan, though... a lot!

Beth )O( Homeschooling Mama to DS (7) DD (5) and DS (1) & #4 on the way in October!!!

Ciaran (when I see it I think - See Aaron for pronounciation). Sounds so much like Sierra. Too girly in my estimation.

Cillian - since I have a science back ground it makes me think cilia the little hairlike protrusions that move things along in the body. Thinking playground wise, "silly Cillian" would be an issue. It does lend it self to more masculine than Ciaran does in my mind.

I like Kieran and think it's a little more masculine with that spelling and the pronunciation "Kee-run". Also like Cillian and it doesn't make me think of "kill." Caedan sounds too much like aiden unfortunately. Other options...

Liam

Tatum

Ethan

Hmm... Out of all of them I like Kieran best with your other boys' names!

of your picks, i like Ciaran the best. i know you didn't want suggestions, but i too love Eamon, as beansproutmama suggested. and Cillian reminds me of beer too! i don't like Caeden, i think it's becoming "trendy." i like Eoghan too. very fine names...

you can steal ours, too, which will be (gods help us with teaching him to spell it) Caoimhin. (Kevin)

No, I really want suggestions! I didn't communicate well in my post ;) I am loving the suggestions that everyone has been making- keep them coming please! Thank you thank you! I just meant website recommendations, lol. I've been to SO many websites and it's starting to hurt my brain!

Thanks again everyone- I am reading every single post and telling my husband the feedback too. Really great!!

My littlest is Ciaran. We use Kai as a nickname, which is helpful for those that just don't understand "Ciaran" and call him "Karen" instead. No one can pronounce it and NO one can spell it, lol!!! That said, I LOVE his name and wouldn't change it for anything. We also have Irish names (we have an Aiden but picked it long before Aiden was popular). I just couldn't make myself spell it the American way with a "K" because I fell in love with the traditional spelling (and now people tell me I spelled it weird just to be different... I don't bother arguing...)

We are looking for another Irish boys name this time around and I'm having such a hard time finding something I love. Right now Reilly is at the top of the list... I just wish it wasn't so popular for girls right now. I really like Tristan, though... a lot!

I vote Tristan for your little boy name It's funny- I knew I wanted to name one of my boys that since I was 6 years old. Not even kidding! Love, love that name- it's so classic and so unique at the same time (we never meet any Tristan's!) and I only get compliments on our choice

I don't like the ill, kill in Cillian and I think Caeden has the "ayden rhyming factor" that we've seen way too much of. The Ciaran will not get spelled or pronounced correctly by most folks.... making it better middle name material. That's where I put the unique name.. in the middle. The child can claim it or hide later depending on how much they like it.

Yeah...I think the verdict on "Caeden" is that it is in the "Aiden" family and to be totally honest (no offense to any of you who have kids with the name "Aiden") I am so sick of it! Working in the nursery at our church and with lots of toddlers- names like that are a dime a dozen. Not to mention I have 3 friends who named their kid "Aiden" and my sister in law just had a boy and what did she name him? Aiden! I couldn't believe it! Ah! So...Being that I am trying to be original, I am realizing that there are consequences to that. Not only that, even though Caeden is my favorite name on my list, it really is too much like so many out there and that rhyming family.

That being said, I'm loving some of the other suggestions I've gotten! Someone suggested Cullen...I like that.

The more DH and I talk about it, the more we're leaning toward some of our other names. We've had 2 categories: The Scottish/Irish trendy/unique names that I was thinking of OR this list:

Patrick

Philip

Gabriel

Thomas

I've always loved "Patrick"...and it's still very Irish. When I was concerned about the shortening of it to "Pat", DH reminded me that his own brother whose name is Jonathon, never gets called John, because he makes it clear that it's not his name. Also, since my kids are homeschooled, there isn't a lot of "playground time" anyway...we are apart of an ongoing playgroup, but that's it.

Arg. Well, we still have lots to think about but it's really helped to have more suggestions and all of the feedback! It sounds like some people still think of "kill" with Cillian, and it's a good point about some people pronouncing it wrong.

Ciaran is out for us- I have asked too many people about it and 90% say that it is too hard to pronounce. I don't want to do that to this kid.

I really wish I could just decide. This is the first pregnancy that I didn't know what the name would be from the moment of conception And it's really bugging me that I can't just "love" one! My mom told me "You'll just know" but I haven't felt that way about any one name.

SO wasn't expecting another boy to name either so it's been challenging in this name department. Hoping for name wisdom sooner than later...

Cillian makes me think less of killing, but definitely of the beer....

I love Ciaran! It isnt at all "girly", not that I believe in that anyway. I think it's perfect. Be prepared for 99% of people to mispronounce it though. Most people will pronounce it "See-ah-ran"

With that said, my son's name is mispronounced 99.99% of the time and I still love it tons and think it's perfect for him. If it has cultural significance and beauty to you, it will also have that for your child. I am not a fan of "Americanized" spellings of names to make them more palatable to most single culture Americans.